Bob Day

For other people named Bob Day, see Bob Day (disambiguation).

Bob Day
AO
Day in 2014
Senator for South Australia
In office
1 July 2014 – 1 November 2016
Succeeded byLucy Gichuhi
Chairman of the Family First Party
In office
November 2008 – November 2016
Preceded byPeter Harris
Succeeded byParty dissolved
Personal details
Born
Robert John Day

(1952-07-05) 5 July 1952 (age 72)
Manchester, England, United Kingdom
NationalityAustralian
Political party
Spouse
Bronte Day
​
(m. 1981)​
EducationGilles Plains High School
Alma materSouth Australian Institute of Technology
Occupation
  • Housing Developer
  • Politician
Websitewww.bobday.com.au

Robert John Day AO (born 5 July 1952) is an Australian former politician and businessman who was a Senator for South Australia from 1 July 2014 to 1 November 2016. He is a former federal chairman of the Family First Party.[1] Before entering politics, he worked in the housing industry, owning several businesses, and at one stage serving as president of the Housing Industry Association.[2]

Day was the Liberal Party's candidate for the federal seat of Makin at the 2007 election, but resigned from the party after failing to gain preselection for the 2008 Mayo by-election. He subsequently joined the Family First Party and was their candidate for the by-election, later becoming their lead Senate candidate in South Australia at the 2010 election and 2013 election.

On his fourth attempt to enter federal parliament in 2013, Day was elected to the Senate from a 3.8 per cent primary vote for Family First,[3] to a term beginning on 1 July 2014.[4] Despite a decline in the party's vote to 2.9 per cent, he was re-elected at the 2016 double dissolution election.[5] Elected to the 12th and final South Australian Senate spot, Day's term was due to expire on 30 June 2019.[6]

Following the liquidation of Home Australia Group, Day announced his intention to resign from the Senate.[7] However, he stated that a potential new investor had expressed interest in the business, that there was too much important work for the Family First Senate seat to be vacant for even one day and that therefore he would not resign before the year's end.[8] However, Day resigned on 1 November 2016 after stating that the investor had backed out.[9]

On 5 April 2017 the High Court held that Day's re-election to the Senate in July 2016 was invalid, since he'd had an "indirect pecuniary interest" in an agreement with the Commonwealth since at least February 2016. As a result, he had not been eligible to sit as a senator from at least February 2016 onward by reason of section 44(v) of the Constitution.[10][11]

  1. ^ Bills, Scott (28 July 2010). "Family First wanted preference deal, says Sex Party". ABC News Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  2. ^ McGarry, Andrew (6 August 2007). "Bob the builder means business". The Australian. News Limited. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  3. ^ "Elections". 50 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra ACT 2600: Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 1 November 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  4. ^ Family First wins Senate spot in SA Archived 4 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine – NineMSN. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  5. ^ Koziol, Michael (2 August 2016). "Family First Senator Bob Day re-elected in South Australia, Labor misses out". Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  6. ^ Hunter, Fergus (12 August 2016). "Coalition and Labor team up to clear out crossbench senators in 2019". Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference homeaus was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Richardson, Tom (26 October 2016). "Family First in disarray as Day "reserves right" to stay on". InDaily. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  9. ^ Stephanie Anderson (1 November 2016). "Bob Day tenders resignation as Family First senator". ABC News.
  10. ^ Re Day [No 2] [2017] HCA 14.
  11. ^ Re Day [No 2]: "Judgment summary" (PDF). High Court of Australia.